Ah Grant Lee Phillips, your voice is a comforting one...

It's been ages since I've posted, and it would really take too long to mention everything that has been going on...so weee, an abridged list:

• Festivals! I believe I posted after Lollapalooza, if not, oops...that was a lot of fun, as was ACL Festival. Great music, fantastic friends, amazing cities.


• 30! I am.


• My apartment is almost looking like I want. I have the guest room to turn into an office, as it is currently one massive recycling bin.


• My mom is getting married!!! He's a cool guy. I'm happy for them.


• I am officially no longer married...my maiden name has also been restored. Despite being almost 10 months since the "split", it was the hardest thing I have ever done.


• I am teaching dance at the studio where I take classes. Youngest group I have ever taught, 3-5!. A definite challenge, but I'm excited about it.


• My car still sucks. I hope to be driving something else within a month.


• Julian is fantastic. I love when he is here. The sweetest cat ever.


• I finally finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm about halfway through The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. FUNNNEEEE.


• I lost my teddy bear. I am hesitant to write about as I'm not exaggerating when I say that I am pretty devastated by this. I've had this bear forever...hopefully wherever he is, he's cared for. :(


• I overheard a REALLY FREAKING AMAZING piece of information...that I'm not going to share, but I know a few of you will be insanely happy if it comes to fruition.


• Love? I still believe in it and hope it comes my way someday.


• I have the best friends anyone could ask for. I've been really selfish with my time and haven't done the best job keeping in touch, and I still get the sweetest check up messages. I really do appreciate and love it...even though I may not do a good job of showing it.

A'ight, enough of that. Take care.

And I’m back…

Chicago was great, Lollapalooza was awesome. I posted pictures in flickr… http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesela/. Good times. I believe my favorite set of all was Flogging Molly…I also loved Nine Inch Nails, Raconteurs, Devotchka, Yeasayer, Radiohead, Chromeo…ah, I could keep going for a while…

I am having a hard time readjusting. I haven’t been staying up late but I’m just so run down. I turned 30 on Monday, and spent the evening watching the Doctor Who finale (both parts). I am at a loss as far as the finale goes…totally.

I was able to pick up Julian yesterday. He was so insanely affectionate and sweet last night, except he kept me awake trying to bite at me and play all night. I wouldn’t respond and he’d cry. Ack. This sometimes happens the first night he’s back, I think he’s excited to see me…which makes me happy, but I’m so tired! I had my milk and vegetable juice (not at the same time, gross!) this morning and am now on to coffee. Maybe it will all kick in. C’mon…

Approx 1 hour later: Well, I’m awake but with a massive headache…fabulous.

Best…show…ever (well, one of them)…Ween at City Hall. Fanfreakingtastic. I get it now. I mean, I always liked them…in smaller doses…but I didn’t understand why people were so rabid for them. Now I do. Heck, I even bought a shirt. Silly.

I think the insanity from last week is starting to catch up with me. I just can’t seem to get enough sleep. I’m hoping to change that tonight. I’m sure the gargantuan cup of coffee I am drinking will help immensely, ha. The days seem so long and the nights so short. I want vacation back. I want to be able to sleep in (though I managed to wake up early every freaking morning—it’s the option that is nice). I want to finish every night on the beach with a bazillion stars in the sky and a beer in my hand (yeah, that has to be a song). I want that fantastic feeling of love and community that we all felt this time around to continue…sigh.

Ah well, reality is calling. I’d rather not answer, but I guess I better. Next week starts the budget…it’s going to take me forever to pay down my credit card after this car mess and all the trips this summer. Argh. It’s worth it, though.

You know I’ve had my share…

Last night was awesome. Totally saw Poison and Sebastian Bach (we avoided Dokken—which I am told was the right decision) with a new kick-ass friend. :)

This morning was not-so-awesome…woke up with a migraine on the horizon…took two aleve, called in late and went back to bed. The sleep totally helped. So I guess that’s good.

Tonight: Ween. Good stuff!

and vcrs.

xo,
j.

haha, yeah...I know I probably need a concert intervention...but it's the BOSS! I cannot deny myself the opportunity to see him live. I just can't. Life is too short.

Soooooooooooo......I'm so going.

It's been a pretty decent weekend so far. I took my mom out last night, we had a blast. Happy hour at the roof, Frist Friday, tapas and martinis at Mirror and we rounded out the night at H. Cue's. She's a lot of fun, and it was really good to just hang out with her and really talk. That woman is so incredibly smart and intuitive. It's almost scary.

So yeah, so far a weekend of family, old friends, new friends and a splash of vodka. I'm off to get ready for the 80's party to end all 80's parties. And I've got new leg warmers to break in, yeehaw!

happy weekending y'all,

jamie

p.s. I've said it already, but for the love of God go check out Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. Your welcome in advance ;)

Edit: durrrr...I know well english...toooooo hard, not to hard. Boo.

Good morning sunshines…

Bonnaroo pictures are out on flickr. I didn’t get as many performance shots as I would have liked, and those are all kind of crappy. Unfortunately nothing from Pearl Jam turned out. :( Ah well…I am happy with them.

Am extremely tired today. I need better weeknight judgment.

Man was it ever A.) tough to fall asleep last night and B.) tough to get out of bed this morning…

That said, I had a really good time at Bonnaroo. The music was awesome, the friends were awesome, the atmosphere was awesome…good times.

In no particular order (except #1, that really was the best)…my top 10 Bonnaroo sets (off the top of my head):
1. Pearl Jam
2. The Sword
3. Metallica
4. M.I.A.
5. Umphreys McGhee
6. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
7. Robert Plant & Allison Krauss
8. What Made Milwaukee Famous
9. Ozomatli
10. Gogol Bordello

I’m sure you’ve already heard all the Kanye bashing, so I won’t join in…but seriously, wtf?!?

I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I did take a bunch…I should be able to post them to flickr tonight. I’ll also have a review on Nashville Feed sometime this week. :)

It looks to be a slow week (until this weekend—Atlanta!!!!). Good thing too, as my apartment is an absolute disaster…I have a busy evening of cleaning ahead of me, fun!

This weekend—it wasn’t too shabby. I was a little too sensitive, but aside from that I had a good time. I’m not kidding though—you could’ve said just about anything to me and I would have started crying—I’m usually not like that. Weird. I think I had too much going on in my head that I was having a difficult time organizing thoughts and perceptions. Does that make any sense whatsoever?

After dress rehearsal Friday, I met up with some lovely friends at H. Cue’s and then Jacksons. We went to see Fight Club at the Belcourt. I still love that movie. We had too much whiskey and none of us were in driving form, so we ended up having an impromptu slumber party at a friend’s apartment near by (she has the cutest cat in the world [well, aside from Julian]).

Saturday I napped all day before my recital. I felt refreshed and prepared. Whether I danced like I was refreshed and/or prepared remains to be seen…after the recital I caught the Features at Mercy Lounge. It was an awesome set complete with an encore of old favorites. It was probably a good 100 degrees in the club, but hey, good practice for Bonnaroo.

The weekend definitely left me exhausted. I saw an advertisement for the American version of Life on Mars last night. I don’t know what to think. The guy playing Sam Tyler is no John Simm, that’s for sure…I am anxious to see it, though. And based on the IMDb entry, the first first episodes will have the same plot and characters.

Anyway…on to Monday, which is virtual Wednesday. Happiness!

Today has been painfully slow. We are down to the last hour. C’mon clock, tick faster.

I’m a little sad about the lack of rock & roll in my life the past few weeks. I had six rock & roll weekends in a row and now this dry spell. What gives? I’ll probably see the Features on the 7th, but that’s over two weeks away. That’s too long. Boo. I don’t know why I am complaining, I’ll get more than my fill of Rock & Roll in two weeks at the ‘Roo. I’m so stoked.

So my dance recital is next Saturday (before the Features show). If anyone comes to see me dance, I’ll totally buy you a drink. Seriously. It’s all the way out near Gallatin and after last year’s marathon show [it’s split in two shows this year] I doubt anyone will want to go. This is my 25th year of dance. That kind of freaks me out a bit.

dammit...I am gullible. I just created all kinds of inconvenience for myself.

in other news....I'M GOIN' TO CALIFORNIA! Napa and San Francisco with some very lovely ladies. So stoked!

It's time to talk about guilty pleasures. So with the new ipod purchase I uploaded all of those old cds that I didn't have room for on the nano, included was Maroon 5 (I can hear you laughing already, screw you). There are some kick ass songs on that record. Some of them are downright hot.

I have to say that I am loving all the old stuff from the high school and college days. I have old CMJ discs going back to '94. What happened to all of those bands? No telling...

This is crazy random. I'm going to get ready now...goin' out. Going to see some rock & roll and later some midnight sci-fi. I love weekends.

xo,
j.

It's been a while. Things are going fairly well...

• work is good, I really am happy with my job. It's not specifically what I want to be doing, but the organization is really terrific.
• I have lost 20 pounds. I probably just gained back 5 for mentioning it...but it feels good. I bought some new jeans a few weeks ago and when I held them up I thought, "no way these will fit, they are skinny person jeans"...they totally fit like a glove. I'm stoked about that.
• My apartment is finally coming together. I still need to hang my record shelf and a few heavier pictures, but it looks nice.
• Speaking of records, I bought a ton of music yesterday at the International Record Store Day celebrations at Grimey's and the Groove.
• Yesterday was the best Saturday in such a long time. We went to the record store stuff; had daytime drinks; walked from my apartment to Rotier's for dinner, milkshakes and beer; then walked over to Vanderbilt for Rites of Spring...saw Grace Potter & the Nocturnals (who I cannot say it enough...best freaking band ever...), Old Crow Medicine Show and Lil John (who was so awesome)...I needed that. I really did.
• I watched the Torchwood season finale this morning, cried my eyes out. God, I'm a dork...but seriously...it was insane.

Alright, I need to shower, dress and get on with the weekend. Cheers y'all...

Someone totally hit my car...I mean slammed into the front of it...while it was parked at Mercy Lounge. I came outside to notice that the VW logo was twisted and the front "grill" area was all messed up...the hood too. GRRRRRRRR.....

I was so pissed that I ran over one of those parking islandy things on the way out, looking like an jackass.

My deductible is super high and I am crazy tired, so I didn't call the cops. I'm just frickin' pissed. Can I not have one nice thing? Seriouslies...

All that aside, Hymns KICKED ASS tonight.

Is that it is next to impossible to get to sleep Sunday night...*cries*

Tomorrow will be a late night (St. Patrick's day and all...) and so will Tuesday (rock concert!)...I need me some z's, stat!

So yeah...watched a ton of old videos from my 1993 MTV tape tonight. Awesome. Also watched some Flight of the Conchords with some lovely ladies. That stuff cracks me up.

Alright...I've drank some wine...tried to relax myself...and now I am going to try to sit in the dark until I fall asleep.

Take two...my first entry was eaten by a monster, also known as a system error.

This is the short version...

My pictures finally uploaded on Flickr. You know, after 3 days...craziness. Anyway, there are some of my niece, Kaylin, as well as moe./Knoxville, Adam's show at the 5 Spot and a random snowy day. Fun stuff.

I plan on doing as little as possible this weekend. I need some rest and rejuvenation. I'll have Julian over the weekend, that makes me happy. Wee!

Longest day everrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Seriously, no joke. I want to go home!

This weekend was amazacrazy (cryin' cause your crazy) awesome. It was literally the rock & roll weekend...

• nothinganything completely kicked @ss at the 5 Spot Friday night. I had a lot of random friends there that were all blown away. After the show we caught a midnight showing of Mean Streets at the Belcourt...then we saw the always lovely vandygoddess at our Cheers.


• Saturday I saw moe. in Knoxville at the Tennessee Theatre. It was incredible! My partner in concert crime got to go up on stage and sing during the encore. Crazy! I took a ton of pictures, but flickr uploader is being a b!tch so only three have uploaded, but check them out (click on the photos link to the left of the screen)...our seats were amazing. We had an excellent time, enjoyed much jack and amazingly did not have hangovers. Awesome!


• Last night I saw Wilco for the third time. It was AMAZING. Probably the best show I've been to in a long time (I think it is tied w/ Grace Potter for my favorite shows this year).


• It's no longer the weekend, but tonight I am going to see Les Claypool, rock!

So yeah, it was a great time. The only downside of the whole weekend was a dead car battery, but that is now fixed...$100 later. :( Batteries are expensive!

Next week is my last week here. You know how I feel about that ;)

I am cat sitting for a friend. It's weird to have a cat that isn't yours in your home, but he's a sweet cat. He has a tiny meow, it's insanely cute.

I get to have Julian next weekend. I can't wait. I saw him briefly last night while I was working on taxes at Dave's. I hope he isn't too freaked out at my apartment. :|

This weekend is going to be Rock & Roll filled, and that is awesome. I'm stoked be seeing nothinganything at the 5 Spot tonight as well as a midnight showing of Mean Streets. Most excellent, indeed.

30 minutes left in the day, it is going be incredibly slow. It is insanely quiet here...almost eerie.

Oh, so Sci-Fi had a Doctor Who marathon on last night and my DVR picked it up, woohoo! I got to watch the first episode w/ Captain Jack. I hadn't seen an epidsode w/ 9 in so long, it was almost weird!!! Crazy! /nerdom

Not going to complain about work, Not going to complain about work, Not going to complain about work, Not going to complain about work, Not going to complain about work....

In other news: Rock & roll weekend/early week ahead. Friday night: Adam McIntyre and the Pinx, (Saturday I am taking a break, seeing the fam), Sunday night: Wilco, Monday night: Les Claypool. Good times. A lot of shows in the next few months (heck already planned for the summer). In addition to the afore mentioned:

-Black Mountain
-Hymns
-Jim Lauderdale
-moe.
-Sasha & Digweed
-Son Volt
-Rites of Spring (Spoon, Colbie Caillat, DJ Kool, Avett Brothers, Jeremy Lister, Lil Jon, Feist, Old Crow Medicine Show, Grace Potter, Randy Rogers Band, Hill Country Revue, H-Beam)
-Sonic Youth
-Robert Plant & Allison Krauss
-Elvis Costello (still up in the air on this one)
-Bonnaroo
-Lollapalooza
-ACL Fest

Good stuff! I'm glad that Nashville is getting some good shows (though the Plant/Krauss show is in Birmingham) and Lolla and ACL are obviously out of town. Ya know what I mean...

seriously. I so totally need to vacuum. I got this wild hair the other night and cleaned a bunch of stuff, but it was too late to vacuum...I know, I'm weird.

Went to one hell of a great show last night, Yonder Mountain String Band. Good stuff.

Busy weekend (daytime laziness aside). A good friend is having her 30th birthday party tonight and it is going to entail wine, food and music. Three of my favorite things! And tomorrow night, a lovely night with some lovely ladies.

In completely unrelated...well, not really as I would love to capture some of these memories and I don't have a digital camera anymore...I think I am going to buy a digital camera today. Target is having a huge sale. My question is this...and I know this is vain, but...

Is it lame to have a red iPod, red phone AND a red camera??


Heee! Probably, but it is super on sale!!!

sinus pressure, that is. Oh my goodness I feel like my face is going to implode.

I stayed home from dance tonight, we are supposed to be rocked pretty hard by storms and I don't want to be in a metal building in Gallatin...probably better that I stay home anyway, given the state of my sinuses. :(

God bless Bruce Springsteen.

I saw "No Country For Old Men" again last night. I really like that movie.

I've been watching a fair amount of movies lately. Once the storms roll through I'll probably watch something tonight, too!

I have a nice bottle of Tempranillo that I am totally about to open, yum!